Have a Heart?

The recent spate of violence all over the country has upset a vast majority of us, even those who weren't directly involved. The most recent of course is the terrorist attack in Mumbai. The fact that the terrorists gained such easy access to such prominent hotels is enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone. The loss of so many innocent lives is very disheartening, and yet another thing that gnaws at my mind is the statement that we Indians are a resilient lot, we manage to bounce back to normal routine soon.
Granted the fact that none of us likes to dwell on such issues for long, we try getting into our normal routine to get over our grief. But is this becoming a habit? Have we started accepting such brutal violence as a part of our lives?
I've lost count of the number of bombings and attacks both communal and terrorist that have taken place in India in the last two years itself. It seems to be the same story everytime. Sure the day the bombings take place, all the local people are united, they help each other out. That's good, but what after that? The government announces a paltry sum to the victims as compensation and most of the time even that rarely reaches the right hands. After that starts the blame game by the netas, all their empty promises, the speeches of 'if we were in power we would have done so and so'. Who's concerned about the grieving families? And in a couple of weeks its all forgotten about, the news channels get something new.
We've grown so used to all the violence that we seem to be practically immune to it now. I recall an incident that took place a few years ago that clearly drove that point home. On my way back home i'd come across an accident between a truck and a car. The car was a mangled wreck and quite obviously, the driver didn't survive. And yes there was a lot of blood over the place.The traffic was moving pretty slowly as they had to manoeuvre around the crash. A school bus was passing by and i doubt those kids were any more than about 12 years of age. I expected them to be upset by the sight, i knew i was, yet the only exclamation i heard from them when they saw the wreck was 'cool!!' That was not a reaction i ever thought i'd hear for an accident. But i guess that's the kind of world we live in now. We see so much of fighting, bloodshed all around us that we just kind of switch off the emotions that come up. Its just that initial; reaction, after that, time to get on with it.
I not sure if what i've just said is true. I sincerely hope its not, because if it was, if we didn't have a heart, we'd cease to be human right? But even with all this, we still come across people who are willing to reach out, who feel the pain that others do. Sure we all feel it, it's just that it takes that extra ounce of courage to reach out. So inspite of it all, there's always hope....... And lets not forget all those bravehearts who gave their lives, they deserve to be remembered.
ciao ;-)